Maxis logo

Maxis

United States Founded 1987 Website

Maxis is an American video game developer and a division of Electronic Arts. The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by EA in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including The Sims, Spore and SimCity.

Maxis at a Glance

Maxis is a United States based developer that started in 1987 and has been active until 2025. They are currently a division of Electronic Arts after being acquired in 1997. The studio has released 61 games on PlayPile with 49 as the developer and 25 as the publisher. Their catalog is heavily focused on simulation titles which make up 49 of their releases. Strategy games follow as the second most common genre at 24 entries while role-playing and adventure games account for 19 and 17 titles respectively. The company has a strong presence on PC with Microsoft Windows supporting 51 of their games. Mac is also a major platform with 32 releases. They have released titles for older systems like DOS with 13 games and Amiga with 7 entries. Modern consoles such as Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 each have 8 Maxis games available. The studio has seen a shift in output over the decades. They only made two games in the 1980s but released 31 titles during the 1990s. The 2000s saw a drop to 11 games while the 2010s brought production back up to 13 entries. Only three games appeared in the 2020s so far. Their average rating across 29 rated titles sits at 71.4 out of 100. The quality distribution shows eight great titles scoring 80 or higher and 16 good titles between 60 and 79. There are five mixed games in the 40 to 59 range but no poor rated releases below 40. SimCity 3000 Unlimited holds the top spot with an 85.6 score followed by The Sims Online at 83.9. SimCity 3000 and The Sims 4: Parenthood both achieved scores of 83.1. More recent efforts like The Sims Mobile from March 2018 received a 65.1 rating. The studio continues to release small content kits for The Sims 4 into 2025 with items like the Comfy Gamer Kit and Desert Luxe Kit.

62
Total Games
71.8
Avg Rating
1988
First Release
2025
Latest Release

Genre Breakdown

Simulator
41%
Strategy
20%
Role-playing (RPG)
16%
Adventure
15%
Sport
2%

Platform Spread

PC (Microsoft Windows)
52
Mac
33
DOS
13
Xbox One
8
PlayStation 4
8

Release Timeline

1980s
2
1990s
31
2000s
11
2010s
14
2020s
3

Rating Distribution

9
80-100
16
60-79
5
40-59
0
0-39
The Sims 4: Comfy Gamer Kit game cover

The Sims 4: Comfy Gamer Kit

2025·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Desert Luxe Kit game cover

The Sims 4: Desert Luxe Kit

2022·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Courtyard Oasis Kit game cover

The Sims 4: Courtyard Oasis Kit

2021·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Legacy Edition game cover

The Sims 4: Legacy Edition

2019·PC, Mac
The Sims Mobile game cover
Rating 6.5

The Sims Mobile

2018·Android, iOS
The Sims 4: Parenthood game cover
Rating 8.3

The Sims 4: Parenthood

2017·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Bowling Night Stuff game cover

The Sims 4: Bowling Night Stuff

2017·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Dine Out game cover
Rating 6.1

The Sims 4: Dine Out

2016·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Perfect Patio Stuff game cover
Rating 5.1

The Sims 4: Perfect Patio Stuff

2015·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Get to Work game cover
Rating 7.4

The Sims 4: Get to Work

2015·PS4, PC, XONE +3
The Sims 4: Collector's Edition game cover

The Sims 4: Collector's Edition

2014·PC
The Sims 4: Premium Edition game cover

The Sims 4: Premium Edition

2014·PC
The Sims 4: Limited Edition game cover

The Sims 4: Limited Edition

2014·PC
The Sims 2: Super Collection game cover
Rating 8.0

The Sims 2: Super Collection

2014·Mac
SimCity game cover
Rating 6.5

SimCity

2013·PC, Mac
The Sims 3: Supernatural game cover
Rating 8.3

The Sims 3: Supernatural

2012·PC, Mac
Darkspore game cover
Rating 6.0

Darkspore

2011·PC
Spore Creature Keeper game cover

Spore Creature Keeper

2009·PC
Spore game cover
Rating 7.7

Spore

2008·PC, Mac
The Sims: Complete Collection game cover

The Sims: Complete Collection

2005·PC, Mac
The Urbz: Sims in the City game cover
Rating 5.9

The Urbz: Sims in the City

2004·XBOX, PS2, NGC
The Sims 2 game cover
Rating 7.5

The Sims 2

2004·PC, Mac
The Sims Bustin' Out game cover
Rating 7.1

The Sims Bustin' Out

2003·XBOX, PS2, NGC
SimCity 4 game cover
Rating 8.3

SimCity 4

2003·PC, Mac
The Sims Online game cover
Rating 8.4

The Sims Online

2002·PC
The Sims: Deluxe Edition game cover

The Sims: Deluxe Edition

2002·PC
SimCity 3000 Unlimited game cover
Rating 77

SimCity 3000 Unlimited

2000·PC, Linux
The Sims game cover
Rating 88

The Sims

2000·PC, Linux, Mac
SimCity 3000 game cover
Rating 8.3

SimCity 3000

1999·PC, Linux, Mac
SimSafari game cover

SimSafari

1998·PC, Mac
Tony La Russa Baseball 4 game cover

Tony La Russa Baseball 4

1997·PC
Kick Off 97 game cover

Kick Off 97

1997·PC, DOS
Streets of SimCity game cover

Streets of SimCity

1997·PC
Marble Drop game cover

Marble Drop

1997·PC
Ezekial S. Jackson's Amazing Truckology game cover

Ezekial S. Jackson's Amazing Truckology

1996·PC
The Crystal Skull game cover

The Crystal Skull

1996·PC, Mac
SimGolf game cover

SimGolf

1996·PC
SimTunes game cover

SimTunes

1996·PC
Full Tilt! Pinball 2 game cover

Full Tilt! Pinball 2

1996·PC
SimCopter game cover
Rating 7.0

SimCopter

1996·PC
SimPark game cover
Rating 6.8

SimPark

1996·PC, Mac
Widget Workshop: The Mad Scientist's Laboratory game cover

Widget Workshop: The Mad Scientist's Laboratory

1995·PC, Mac, DOS
SimTown game cover
Rating 7.9

SimTown

1995·PC, Mac
Full Tilt! Pinball game cover
Rating 7.0

Full Tilt! Pinball

1995·PC, Mac
SimIsle: Missions in the Rainforest game cover
Rating 7.7

SimIsle: Missions in the Rainforest

1995·PC, Mac, DOS
Marty and the Trouble with Cheese game cover

Marty and the Trouble with Cheese

1995·PC, Mac
Klik & Play game cover

Klik & Play

1994·PC
SimHealth game cover

SimHealth

1994·DOS